Friday, December 08, 2006

Mayoral Selection

On Dec. 12, the Ojai City Council will vote to name Councilwoman Carol Smith Ojai's new mayor. The procedure is a formality, as the mayoral position is filled by the rotation of existing council members. Do you approve of the rotation process, will Smith make the best mayor, or should the mayor be elected by voters?

3 Comments:

My personal view is that present situation has worked well, so why change it?

The dangers of having an elected mayor are at least three-fold: one - it would diminish the role and influence of the other council members; two - it would create a natural and probably irresistible conflict with the city manager and staff; and three - it would encourage too much jostling and jockeying by the other council members either to run against the mayor or to be anointed as the successor.

One key advantage, though, is that it would create one highly visible position directly accountable to the public. A good mayor could go a long way to setting Ojai on a clear and consistent course.

Ojai is so small, though, that having a largely ceremonial mayor on hand for ribbon cuttings and the like is all we really need.

I was not here at the time, but don't forget that Joe DeVito tried to stop Suza Francina from becoming Mayor when it was her turn. He definitely overstepped his bounds and mandate, and grossly overestimated the role of mayor. Like her or not, Suza was a duly elected representative of the people, and as such deserved her turn as mayor.

Let us be real about the characterand content about the staff being reviewed here. Carol was adept at non-answers during the campaign- when Cathy Jones asked for clarification on the cityattorney issues, Carol claimed"I can't see you." Steve Olson mostly gave nothing of content,claiming he wasn't informed tocomment. Joe Devito went a numberof rants of sound and fury signifying nothing. I was thereto observe them im astonishmentduring the forums, so the fact thatthey were seated by familiarity of the voters is by all indications aforeboding sign for Ojai future.PL